REPEAT WARNING: Once again, this is not a sailing related entry. This, as well as future entires through April/May 2025, reflect our effort to capture our experiences while we explore Australia, New Zealand and other places (now Southeast Asia) across the world from the country we call home by land with some air travel assists. We are metaphorically putting our memories in a bottle to savor on some future date. If you are not interested in reading an amateur attempt to document travel experiences you may wish to skip these entries. No offense will be taken. You were warned!
After a 6 week visit back to the States we returned to Che Figata on November 15 for a brief 2 week stay. This trip to the States was another illustration of how much can happen in a short period of time. We attended our daughter’s wedding, visited with family and friends, had our annual doctors appointments (yippee!) and got to watch live as the results of the presidential election were coming in. All we will say is that most of our visit was filled with immense joy. Our daughter is doing great (thank you for all the prayers!) and her wedding was both a celebration of love and her good health after a challenging year. We were also reminded how fortunate we are to have so many wonderful people in our lives who are there for us — whether it is to kvell with us during the good times (sometimes only a good Yiddish word will do!) or to lift us up when we are down. For the record, the results of the election were not one of those moments of joy but we repeat the serenity prayer and accept the results. (In the immediate aftermath, the endorphins released by hugs from our granddaughters helped tremendously.) This is not a political blog (though, interestingly, our thoughts on this election was what most people we met in New Zealand during our extended visit there wanted to talk about) so we will leave that subject there.
Uncharacteristically, we did not return to our boat with a long task list. The boat projects are now winnowed down to a small handful of outstanding — albeit critical — items (like a generator that overheats, a new alternator that doesn’t put out enough amps and a finicky oil pressure alarm, ugh!) and we no longer need to spend a few hours each day planning a wedding (check that box!). As we thought about what we wanted to do with all our “free time” 😀 we realized that despite some amazing adventures in Australia (which included travels around Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria) we had not played tourist in Brisbane, Che Figata’s backyard. (Scarborough Marina — Che Figata’s home away from home — is a northern suburb of Brisbane.) When we returned to Che Figata it was always in short spurts, in between planned travels and, as noted, with a long “to do” list. That meant that we stayed pretty “close to home” during our brief stays. It was clearly time to venture out and finally explore Brisbane and nearby attractions!
Our first roadtrip was to the Australia Zoo. That is the zoo owned by the Irwin family, famous for the late Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin. The zoo continues to be run by Steve’s widow, Terri and his now grown children, Bindi and Robert. We have mixed feelings about zoos but, as zoos go, the Australia zoo is a lovely one. Many large, natural, open air exhibits and a huge array of indigenous and other animals including a large section of animals from Africa. Of course, Australia is known as the country where “everything wants to kill you” so the zoo would not be complete without an extensive exhibit of the venomous reptiles that are abundant out in the wild. The sheer number of venomous reptiles housed in the exhibit certainly convinced us that Australia’s reputation is not undeserved. Well, except that not quite everything wants to kill you. We got to see many of the more docile animals Australia is famous for including koala bears who hung on to eucalyptus trees — not fenced in an exhibit — throughout the park. As the koala is one of the few quintessential indigenous Australian mammals that we didn’t see in the wild during our Australia travels we were thrilled to see them live in their (almost) natural habitat (and not behind plexiglass) even if it was at a zoo. It is just amazing how they cling to trees while asleep — sometimes rather casually with arms and legs draped over branches — looking as if, at any moment, they might topple down during a deep sleep cycle. (But they don’t!) (See our pic on @sailingchefigata that really illustrates this point!). Our zoo excursion was a delightful 6 hour, 14,000 step, affair!
Our second roadtrip was a 2 day/1 night trip into the Brisbane central business district. It was an arduous 36 mile journey by car from our boat 😀. What a charming city. On the small end of a large city, Brisbane is a glorious combination of modern and Victorian architecture built around the winding river that runs through it. Brisbane River, affectionately known as the “Brown Snake” because of its brown color and many steep curves, is Brisbane’s heart and soul. Not surprising then, Brisbane is a city of bridges (some pedestrian, some for cars and some for both and most architectural gems) with the oldest dating back to the 1930s and the most recent opened just 4 months ago. You can walk across the bridges, along the river, following dedicated foot and bicycle paths (parts of it under the dense canopy of a fig tree lined walkway) and then take a free ferry back across to the other side. (Or for a 50 cent AUD spurge — roughly 33 cents USD — you can take a ferry from one end of the river to the other).
We loved our time in the Brisbane CBD! Aside from Brisbane’s overall aesthetic and walkability, there were so many highlights. We started our first day with a 90 minute walking tour which was a great way to get our bearings and learn more about the city. So may fun facts. For example, we didn’t know that that Queensland (the state in which Brisbane resides) was originally part of New South Wales. As Brisbane grew in size its residents petitioned Queen Victoria to make the area surrounding Brisbane its own territory. To help induce the Queen the residents promised to name the new state after her. Since the name “Victoria” was already taken (that’s where Melbourne sits), they came up with the name Queensland. Apparently, Queen Victoria was very pleased! During our tour we walked past the Commissariat Store Museum which showcases Queensland convict and colonial history. (The Commissariat Store began its life as a store for the convict settlement in Brisbane). On day 2 of our Brisbane stay we returned there to take a tour. Our guide shared a wealth of interesting facts. We did not know that England did not start sending convicts to Australia until after the newly liberated USA refused to continue to accept them following the revolutionary war.
Though Brisbane is a great example of urban planning — we loved how Brisbane balanced development with enhancement of natural assets like the river, incorporating it into its urban design — it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Somewhat cheeky street art dots the city. There are the unmarked small doors (tiny might be a better description as they are no more than 4 inches high) that can be found sprinkled throughout the Central Business District. We found one with a painting of a lounging Santa Clause in honor of the upcoming holiday. Then there are the “City Roos” — four kangaroos made from scrape metal depicted in different poses including one that looks like he’s hopping along and one lounging on a city bench. (We posted a few pictures of the small doors and one of the kangaroo sculptures on our @sailingchefigata Instagram account.). Finally, there’s the Blu Art Xinja who leaves playful blue figures on laneways, rocks, up trees and in buildings throughout Brisbane.
One of our biggest delights was wandering inside St. John’s Anglican Cathedral. We were drawn to the church by the splendor of its edifice. It was constructed in the gothic-revival architecture style with two tall and narrow (but still imposing) towers on either side of its wide stately entrance with 3 large arched doorways. The outside stone facade was built using Brisbane Tuff — a local volcanic rock that naturally comes in many colors including greens, blues, pink and yellow — giving the structure this fabulous mottled look. Inside the cathedral is home to magnificent stone arches, stained glass and wood carvings. It’s truly a work of art. (We posted pictures of the cathedral on our @sailingchefigata Instagram account and used one of those pictures as our featured image for this post. You should take a look at our pics because we know our description is not doing the magnificence of the cathedral justice.) What’s also fascinating is the history of the construction. Due to a variety of circumstances, it took over a hundred years to build the cathedral. Originally commissioned in 1885, construction did not start until 1906 and was not completed until 2009.
Finally, no visit to a city would be complete without an amazing meal. We had dinner at Longwang, featuring modern Asian cuisine. The restaurant had a great vibe with its long and narrow footprint making every table feel very private. We chose Longwang on the strength of its 5 star reviews and its menu which included several vegan options. We were not disappointed. Between us we ordered the tuna sashimi salad, sichuan salt + pepper tofu, the lightly fried eggplant (with a spicy ginger dressing), panang cauliflower curry and the toothfish seasoned with soy, ginger and spring onions. There was not a dish that was less than perfect in taste and presentation. The icing on the cake was our server Maddy. Through a series of conversations we learned that she was from New Zealand and had just completed a grueling PhD program in neuroscience with a focus on bipolar disorders. While she ultimately wants to get a job in her field (preferable in Australia where there is more opportunity for her), she wanted to take a little time to nourish her right brain and get out of her comfort zone. So she flew over to Australia, is currently waiting tables at Longwang and is trying her hand at standup comedy. Between the food, atmosphere and effervescent Maddy, our evening at Longwang was more than a dinner out — it was a true experience.
As mentioned, our visits back to Che Figata are usually brief — just long enough to work through our boat repair and maintenance list an pack for our next adventure. As we finalize this blog entry we are getting ready to fly to Thailand on December 1 for a two month visit there. We are combining a private tour of the country with a month long rental of an apartment in Chiang Mai. Following that we will visit Singapore and then Cambodia and Vietnam, returning to Che Figata at the end of February. Our next blog entry will cover Part I of our Thailand tour which will end upon our arrival in Chiang Mai around mid December. Until then Cheers!
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